Basketball For Dummies

by Richard "Digger" Phelps, Tim Bourret (Contributor), John Walters (Contributor)

The easy way to get the ins, outs, and intrigue on this beloved sport

The National Basketball Association (NBA), with 30 teams and an average attendance of more than 17,000 spectators per game, is the richest and most popular basketball league — and arguably the most viewed American sport — in the world. This new edition of Basketball For Dummies not only covers the rules and regulations of the NBA, but offers coverage on the WNBA, NCAA, and international basketball leagues.

Basketball For Dummies is a valuable resource to the many fans of this beloved sport, covering everything from players and personalities in the game to rules, regulations, and equipment. Completely updated with information and intrigue that's occurred in the sport since publication of the previous edition, Basketball For Dummies gets you up to speed on everything from NCAA Tournament brackets to college players en route to the NBA.

Coverage of the rules and regulations of the NBA Interesting topics like LeBron the Phenom, ESPN'S influence on the NBA, and the UCONN women's basketball dynasty Digger's take on John Wooden

Whether you're a basketball player or a courtside spectator, Basketball For Dummies is a slam-dunk of information and intrigue for anyone who loves the sport.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Basketball

614 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 1997

Reviews

[Sophie]

Helpful if you're learning how to play basketball (:

[Laura Walin]

Since I started basketball 1½ years back I have wanted to know more. Hence I read this book. So now I know more about basketball but not necessarily the things I was after. I know about the history of the game, I know the great US players, the significant games, and the main basketball events of the year, both at college and pro level.

What I am still less savvy about is how the game should be practiced and played, as a total beginners. Admittedly, there are sections about these too, but even though the author is a coach, he is not giving too many hints. For me therefor, this was not a really a book for dummies but for folks who already know quite a lot about the sport.

Readingwise what bothered me as I read the book from cover to cover was that the book was written in a manner that allows you dive into any one section that you are interested in. This results in the fact that the same story can be told three times, in different contexts, and for a linear reader thus appears as annoying repetition.

[Sarah]

I've never read a "Dummies For..." book before, and this was a pleasant surprise. It was a bit cringey in some places, and I feel a right dork reading about basketball for some reason. But if one takes in info better via reading, then it seems silly not to. For some parts I think I need a book about basketball for the dumber than dumb, mainly when it comes to the drills and plays. It's really helped improve the watching experience for a fast moving game where there's a lot more going on than first meets the eye.

[Christina]

3.5 stars because the format is confusing. There are too many side notes and no glossary, so this book seems organized, but really jumps around. I'm having to re-read offense and defense chapters, because I did not understand some of the terminology the first time through. I would say I need a more simplified version of this book to be written!

[Dalia DJ]

Good read for first time coaches.

[James K]

The basics don’t change and will always be the best for young players

[Larry “Bird” Bryant]

Better than I thought. Some good stuff in this book.

I guess I’m smarter than the average fan.

[Stephanie Mattson]

Maybe 2 1/2 ⭐️

[Denise Volk Carey]

Didn’t finish the whole book - but found interesting the parts I read.

[jessica o. ❦]

#GoKnicks

[Alain Burrese]

Richard "Digger" Phelps is the former coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team and a college basketball analyst for ESPN. In short, he knows basketball. Along with John Walters and Tim Bourret, he wrote "Basketball for Dummies." Like all the books in this series, it contains everything you need to truly appreciate and understand the sport. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn about the game, about the sport, the players, game rules, regulations, equipment and so on. As the series likes to point out, this book makes learning about basketball easier.

The book contains six parts, with each part containing chapters related to that section's topic. After the Introduction, Part I: Basketball 101 provides chapters on the bare-bones of the game, the wear and where of basketball, the rules, and statistics. Part II: The Fundamentals of Basketball contains chapters on shooting, offense, defense, rebounding and moves, plays, and strategies. Part III: The Game looks at pickup basketball, high school basketball, college basketball, professional basketball, and the international game. Part IV: And You Don't Have to Pick Up a Ball focuses on fans with chapters on how you don't need to play to be a fan and filling out your NCAA tournament bracket. Part V: The Part of Tens is a standard part for "Dummies" books and has ten games that changed the course of basketball history, ten best Bball websites, ten NBA legends, and ten important dates in Bball history. The final part, Part VI: Appendixes includes a glossary of terms and drilling the basics.

The book also contains the little sidebars and tips you expect, including hall of fame, Digger says, player tips, coach tip, fan tip, and remember icons. These are fun and interesting and make certain points stand out depending if you are a player, coach or fan.

This book really does have a lot of good basic information about the game and sport, for players, coaches and fans. While I played in high school, and pick up games since, I wanted this book to brush up on some things as I prepare to coach my little girl in YMCA games in the future. I'll use this book, and probably pick a couple up on coaching too, to help out.

I like the simplicity and organization of the book, and that it covers a lot of information on various parts of the game. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to read more about the sport of Basketball.

[CathyAyn]

Not as useful as I'd hoped. A lot of history and explains the basics of the game, but not as much education about the details, various plays and calls that can be somewhat nuanced if you've not played/coached the game (which is what I was looking fo).

[Steven Peterson]

Digger Phelps, basketball commentator and former basketball coach at Notre Dame, has authored another in the "for Dummies" series. This, about basketball.

Not a bad work. How do you attack a 1-3-1 defense? Go to page 104. What about offensive rebounding? Go to page 153. Interested in high school basketball? On page 207, we see a listing of the largest high school gyms in the U.S. What about professional basketball? On page 241, Phelps speaks of the globalization of basketball, with professional NBA players from throughout the world.

All in all, a nice addition to the "Dummies" series. Phelps does a nice job introducing readers to basketball in all of its manifestations.

[Shazaib Maqsood]

Basketball for dummies.The author is Richard "digger" Phelps.the main purpose of this book is to guide you how to play basketball.the book goes in very details about how to play basketball the proper way.You cant really say that its for the beginners because it you about stuff that the professional players don't even know about.The book is very useful because like I said it helps you get better in your basketball game.It is very easy to follow because it actually shows the pictures of how to do those plays.I would recommend this book to the people who really love the game of basketball and who have passion for it and want to learn something new.
thankyou

[Nick Qui]

This whole book was very good to me, since I love the game basketball and I actually learned some new things from the former head coach of Notre Dame. It was both inspiring and a little frustrating trying to learn what the book is intending to tell me. It was a really good book to me and I believe that if you're trying to learn some new things about basketball, this is your book.

[Denise]

One of these days I will understand all the rules and regulations of this game Sean plays between football seasons. Until then I will have to sustain myself with the knowledge that I'm pretty sure I figured out when Reg was ejected from Sean's second to last game. ;-)

[Bill Forgeard]

Having been playing for years but never properly coached, I learned heaps from this book. (I read the Australian adaption by Andrew Gaze.)

[Doug]

this is a great book of information on the game of basketball written by one of the great coach in NCAA basketball - Digger Phelps from the University of Notre Dame

[Enoch]

VERY GOOD

[Enoch]

VERY GOOD

[Julliane Sunwar]

It's really good because it was clear when telling you stuff and also because there were pictures for most of the things that they were explaining to you. There were also diagrams.

[Kati]

I learned a few things ... the game is starting to make more sense to me!

[Margarita]

A very basic though helpful book about basketball. Chapters are nicely organized according to topic which makes it much easier to flip between them when looking for specific information.

[David Tomlinson]

For those of us who don't play the game, Digger explains basketball in hilarious, uncomplicated terms.

[Robert Crowley]

this book was informational it had all the rules teams and others

[David Barney]

simply but effective